The activities listed below shall not be permitted in any park or playground unless a permit has been secured for such activity from the Borough Council, or its agent, the Borough Manager. No permit shall be issued unless an application therefor shall have been made at least 24 hours before the time of the activity. In the case of seasonal activities, a permit may be issued for the entire season.

(a) Groups or parties in excess of 12 persons.
(b) Placements of placards, advertisements or public notices.
(c) Fires, other than in a fireplace or other equipment provided for cooking purposes, or for a bonfire or campfire as part of an authorized event.
(d) Firearms or the discharge of firearms or other weapons.
(e) Soliciting of alms or subscriptions.
(f) Selling or exposing for sale any articles.

The language that “firearms” “shall not be permitted” “unless a permit has been secured for such activity from the Borough Council, or its agent, the Borough Manager” that must be submitted “at least 24 hours before the time of the activity” seems to make it pretty clear that they issue their own permits to possess firearms in parks at least 24 hours in advance of your planned time to be in the park. I wanted to know more about this little gem of an ordinance.

In trying to find out more about that permit, I called the borough, found myself transferred to three different staff members in Borough Hall in my first call, put on hold for nearly 10 minutes, and still couldn’t tell you anything about the process to apply for this permit outlined in their code. I was then told to contact the Police Department for the permit information, including cost, but the Police Department said that any and all permitting in regards to parks happens through Borough Hall and sent me back to the third woman with whom I spoke. She eventually transfered me to a borough leader who said that the borough doesn’t actually issue permits, but they require that state licenses to carry in order to possess firearms in any way in public parks. I very specifically asked if that applied to open carry as well, and he said that all carry in parks required the state license to carry. (This is illegal for them to demand.)

What’s interesting is that this borough has already been warned off of violating Pennsylvania’s preemption law in a letter sent by firearms attorney Joshua Prince just four days ago. It would appear that instead of requiring you to notify them at least 24 hours in advance of any trips to the park and securing a permit at an unknown price with, what I was told, an application that apparently never existed, they are continuing to violate state law by demanding licenses to carry concealed for any possession at all – concealed or not.

This why we need preemption with some teeth. A good start is Sen. Rich Alloway‘s SB 876. It does at least make local governments pay for the cost of challenging their abuses of power. It would certainly improve the situation in Morrisville since, in all likelihood, the problem ordinance never would have been passed in the first place. Even if it was on the books, the borough itself would be on the financial hook for a court challenge to their illegal ordinance and almost certainly wouldn’t find it acceptable for their leaders to give out illegal advice without consequence.

Can you imagine what a mess gun owners would be in if ordinances like this one were allowed to stand? The permits could cost hundreds of dollars or require gun owners to fund security for the “event” of having a concealed firearm in the park, permits could have complex application forms that required absurd advance notice, or we could find out that, like Morrisville, applications never existed because they never intended to honor their own ordinance that requires a borough-issued permit to possess.

Unfortunately, Sen. Chuck McIlhinney, Morrisville’s State Senator, has not signed on as a co-sponsor of this preemption bill, even with this blatant violation of state law in his own district.

In case you missed it back in January, Reed Exhibitions sponsored the Eastern Sport & Outdoor Show (ESOS) in Harrisburg every year and managed to generate upwards of $74 million in a local economic impact and in support of the non-profits that raise money and sign up memberships at the ESOS. However, Reed suddenly banned the display of modern sporting rifles this year and the backlash of their attack on our community cost them so many vendors and customer refund requests that they had to “postpone” the show. The show has never been rescheduled by the company and the entire situation was handled so poorly by Reed that some lawmakers publicly indicated that they hoped Reed would never be allowed to host the show again.

All of that meant that Harrisburg-area tourism groups and Farm Show Complex organizers went shopping for a new host to a sporting show for the region. Conveniently, NRA already hosts a smaller scale show just 70 miles down the road in Maryland right around the same time of year.

It was announced today that NRA has been selected as the vendor to run a much larger scale Great American Outdoor Show in Harrisburg during the traditional time of the ESOS going forward. NRA members who attended the NRA Annual Meeting & Exhibits in Pittsburgh in 2004 or 2011 know that the organization has great experience running massive shows in Pennsylvania. We look forward to the addition of this annual show drawing in gun owners from around the region.

Maryland, after pushing extreme anti-gun legislation, now loses the economic impact of that show and Pennsylvania gets a new vendor for the sportsmen’s show that doesn’t turn on the hunters & shooters who support the show. To top it off, Reed forever loses the multi-million dollar show they once hosted. Anti-gunners from Reed & the Maryland legislature lose big opportunities and Pennsylvania wins with a better exhibition host and added dollars into the economy.

There’s nothing available on what deal he put together, but Pennsylvania voters need to make every single phone in every single office ring loud and clear tomorrow morning. Every office that allows voicemails should have a completely full box by the time staff arrive. Call tonight; call again tomorrow.

Need a reminder for the phone numbers?

• DC – (202) 224-4254
• Allentown – (610) 434-1444
• Erie – (814) 453-3010
• Harrisburg – (717) 782-3951
• Philadelphia – (215) 241-1090
• Pittsburgh – (412) 803-3501
• Scranton – (570) 941-3540
• Johnstown – (814) 266-5970

If you find they are full by the time you call, send an email and call again in the morning when staff arrive.

It’s tough to say whether a flood of calls will truly change Sen. Toomey’s mind at this point, but the debate isn’t over and there have been no votes cast, so the message that gun owners are not happy needs to be sent loud and clear.

Sen. Toomey’s response is disconcerting since it means that some House Republicans from Pennsylvania in tight districts will likely look to support to gun control bills floated in the House of Representatives. With that in mind, it’s wise to start contacting your Congressman now, too. If you live in the ring counties of Philadelphia, this is particularly important.

A fellow Election Volunteer Coordinator shared the email addresses for any Lancaster residents who can’t make it to the meeting to oppose this resolution:

Louise B. Williams, President – LBWilliams1@aol.com
John E. Graupera – jeg114@gmail.com
James D. Reichenbach – jamesreichenbach@comcast.net
Tim J. Roschel – Troschel@aol.com
Todd E. Smith – Tesmith1111@yahoo.com
Jose E. Urdametz – Jurdaneta@urdaneta.net
Barbara J. Wilson – bwilson.citycouncil@gmail.com

The linked article notes that the resolution is expected to pass. Regardless, it might be worth reminding these council members that municipal elections are this year. An outcry might just make some hesitate to use limited city resources to promote gun control at the behest of the New York City mayor.

Bloomberg’s anti-gun group of mayors will use their representative in Easton, PA to partner with Organizing for Action for an anti-gun rally this afternoon. Another MAIG mayor, this one from Chester in Delaware County, is advertising a press event for more gun control. In Pittsburgh, MAIG has recruited three of the Democratic candidates for mayor on this year’s ballot to do a press conference calling for more gun control.

OFA must have heard that Pennsylvania gun owners have been organizing massive postcard and letter campaigns to lawmakers as of late because now they are trying to do petitions for gun control in Democratic strongholds in and around Philadelphia like Media, Center City, New Hope, Ambler, and North Philadelphia.

Joining MAIG on the rally front, OFA has recruited Montgomery County Commissioner Josh Shapiro to lead their gun control drive locally. In the Lehigh Valley, OFA is doing a vigil tonight to promote more gun control. Across the state, OFA will hold a vigil outside of Rep. Mike Kelly’s office to pressure him to support more gun control.

After this primary day of action, OFA is setting up in Johnstown to have a hunter to come talk to volunteers and help them write letters to the editors of regional newspapers that support gun control from a fake pro-gun perspective. Also after the main action, MAIG is sponsoring a rally for gun control on Saturday just north of Philadelphia, alongside a local state representative’s new anti-gun advocacy group, Bucks Safe, that will coincide with the multi-million dollar television ad purchase made by Bloomberg.

In addition to calling your federal lawmakers and letting them know that you stand for the Second Amendment and expect the same from them, NRA is encouraging folks to change their social media icons today to the Stand & Fight logo.

The anti-gun group founded & funded by Mayor Bloomberg is also making a splash local politics with an event in Bucks County this month. Mayors Against Illegal Guns is sponsoring a rally for gun control in Doylestown, 27 miles north of Philadelphia, alongside Rep. Steve Santarsiero‘s new anti-gun advocacy group, Bucks Safe, that will coincide with the television ad purchase.

The perception that Bloomberg’s political donations and multi-million dollar ad buys will provide political cover from upset voters may already be impacting the votes of Sen. Bob Casey. On Saturday morning, he voted against legislation that would prevent the United Nations from overriding individual Second Amendment rights protections through their Arms Trade Treaty. The amendment had bi-partisan support from Senators around the country, including Sen. Pat Toomey.

Today, the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service announced that Pennsylvania would receive a record $19,158,429 in matching grants to fund projects to restore, conserve, manage and enhance wild birds and mammals and their habitat. Projects also include providing public use and access to wildlife resources, hunter education and development and management of public shooting ranges. The non-federal share of project funds (at least 25% of a project cost) often comes from state revenues derived from license fees paid by hunters.

The total funds dispersed nationwide come to $522.5 million for the year, and that shatters the previous record of $473 million in 2010, according to media reports. That year, Pennsylvania received $17,020,573.

The Pittman-Robertson Wildlife Restoration Act includes an apportionment formula that distributes program funds to States based on the area of the state (50%) and the number of paid hunting license holders (50%). No state may receive more than 5 percent, or less than one-half of one percent of the total apportionment.

Wildlife Restoration program funds come from manufacturer excise taxes collected by the U.S. Treasury and deposited in the Federal Aid in Wildlife Restoration Trust Fund. The Service’s Wildlife and Sport Fish Restoration Program (WSFR) administers the Trust Fund. Once collected, the funds are distributed to state fish and wildlife agencies for eligible wildlife restoration activities. The manufacturer excise taxes include:

• 10% tax on pistols, handguns, and revolvers;
• 11% on firearms and ammunition; and
• 11% tax on bows, quivers, broadheads, and points.

For average gun owners who only have limited energy for following the political fight should still be focused on writing letters or making phone calls at the federal level. However, if you have the energy and dedication to step your activism up a notch, we’ve reached out to other activists to come up with ideas that members of gun clubs can use to make a difference for pro-gun candidates. (All of those looking to involve themselves in elections with organized gun clubs should look into any state or federal laws that may be relevant in terms of fundraising and in-kind donations before following ideas suggested here or developed offline.)

>> Contact the candidates you are backing and ask if they could set aside some “manual labor” type jobs for your club to offer during designated work times. The things that would most easily fit with typical gun range work times would be putting together yard signs, hammering together the frames for really large signs to be posted at intersections and larger plots of land, and even stuffing literature bags for precinct walks. These are activities that more gun guys who may not feel the most confident in walking door-to-door and being social or making phone calls to strangers can do. Even better, because of the need for target stands at many ranges, the tools and skills for building sign frames are already available.

>> Offer the club facility for use as a fundraising site for a local candidate. The campaign can handle everything, but they at least have use of the facility for free. The only real concern for the club in this case is to set up ground rules for use of the club (i.e. who is responsible for cleanup, any restrictions on catering, noise regulations, etc.).

>> Offer to actually host a fundraiser for a candidate or slate of candidates. Rather than simply allowing a campaign to use to property, the club would act as host of the fundraiser – arranging a caterer or finding club members who can cook up some hamburgers, inviting members and families, etc. While many people think of fundraisers as something big and expensive, they don’t have to be. Do a simple/cheap food theme and charge something like $25 or $30 per adult. If you do this early in the campaign season, you’re more likely to get the candidate out to the event where people can meet him/her and actually talk issues. And, there’s no reason to stop at just offering food. You could make it a shoot or match for added fun and social opportunities.

>> If the club is really willing to get involved, then work with a campaign to do secure pre-paid cell phones and set up a day to do some phone banking from the club. Bring in some pizza, sandwiches and sodas for club members, and give them work time credit. Make it a social event at the club. If the campaign is larger – like a Congressional or Senate campaign – then they may even have a list of call sheets that just target fellow sportsmen. It’s much, much easier to make a phone call to a stranger in support of a candidate when you know the talking points are about issues you know and the recipient is a fellow gun owner. If the local campaigns don’t have this level of targeting, NRA will have such systems in place to make calls to gun owners in favor of their endorsed candidates. Also, big secret to phone banking, you almost always just talk to answering machines, so it doesn’t require being that social.

>> See if the guys and gals who shoot matches with guns that are the targets of gun bans would be willing to get together one day for a couple of hours of door knocking and dropping off literature. Working in small groups is an easy way to knock out a neighborhood quickly, and it’s a bit of exercise and time in the sun.

>> If the club doesn’t have the facilities to host an event, use the club newsletter or calendar to promote outside candidate events like the low-level fundraisers, precinct walk days, and especially any kind of sportsmen’s outreach events. Unfortunately, you may not always have the months or weeks of heads up about these types of events required for traditional newsletter publication, but you can use a club website and/or an email list. Start thinking about these kinds of activities as typical additions to the club’s matches and other events. Just like competitions help preserve the Second Amendment by keeping people engaged with the gun culture, political work for pro-gun candidates also helps preserve the Second Amendment.

>> Invite your pro-gun lawmakers to club events where there will be quite a few people – picnics, major meetings, special events, etc. If you don’t have many club events to choose from, consider inviting them to join you at a table at a Friends of NRA dinner. Make sure to communicate with them what kind of event it is – whether or not it is one where they are allowed get up and say a few words or give a full speech. If you do arrange an event like this, give the scheduler or other staffer some idea of what the audience will be like. Sure, it may be taking place at a gun club, but that doesn’t mean the only issue people there care about relate to guns. If there are common traits or circumstances that apply to the membership beyond a shared love of our rights, let the lawmaker know so they can be prepared to answer questions about those issues, too.

>> Start at the real grassroots of your local political structures. A fellow NRA volunteer suggested identifying precinct or other hyper-local party captains or leaders in your area and inviting the pro-Second Amendment leaders to a social shoot at the facility. They could get to know club leaders, meet club members, and be reminded of the potential power of the pro-gun vote. Another consideration might be to issue an invitation to all of these hyper-local leaders to an educational class or demonstration at the range.

• If a gun owner leaves town for more than 7 days, and leaves a domestic partner or unrelated roommate at home with the guns, they would be committing a felony transfer. For states that recognize marriages that the federal government does not, there’s no exemption for those spouses. In any of these situations, it means 5 years in prison for the people involved.
• Actually, even married couples are questionably legal because the exemption between family only applies to gifts, not to temporary transfers. The 7-day implication is if a gun owner leaves their spouse at home for more than 7 days, it’s an unlawful transfer and they become a felon facing 5 years in prison. I suppose one could gift them to a spouse, or related co-habitant, and then have them gift the entire gun collection back upon arrival back home. Maybe the Attorney General will be generous enough to create a form for that type of temporary gift.
• It would be illegal to lend a gun to a friend to take shooting. That would be a transfer causing the offender to face 5 years in federal prison.
• The bill steals the livelihood of gun dealers by setting a fixed fee to conduct transfers. The fee is fixed by the Attorney General. What’s to prevent him or her from setting it at $1,000 in order to punish firearms owners?
• The legislation enacts de facto universal gun registration through record keeping requirements.
• All lost and stolen guns must be reported to the federal and local government. This means everyone will have to fill out the theft/loss form, and not just FFLs. Gun owners will only have 24 hours to comply. If one lose a gun on a hunting trip deep in the woods, and that person cannot get back home to fill out the form in less than 24 hours, they become a felon and will face 5 years in federal prison.
• If one hunter wants to lend a gun to a friend to go hunting, it’s a felony.
• The bill makes no exception for state permits to carry or other permits that require regular background checks. All transfers must go through a dealer or offenders will face 5 years in federal prison.
• Even gun owners who are teaching someone to shoot on their own land will be committing a felony with 5 years in prison if the new shooter is handed the gun. Such a transfer on private property is not exempted as lawful.

Gun owners need to punish any lawmaker who voted for this extreme bill. It’s nothing more than an attempt to put more gun owners in prison. Sen. Schumer was wise to keep this under wraps because his bill is truly draconian.  I not only expect the GOP to vote against this bill, I personally expect them to filibuster it. Let’s see if the Democrats can get to 60 without any Republican support, and the party may see how many of them want to lose their seats in 2014. (Neither of Pennsylvania’s Senators are up for re-election in 2014, but many are in states that take pride in their strong pro-gun traditions.)

This bill has nothing to do with ensuring people who are getting guns are law-abiding, and everything to do with getting backdoor registration and creating a patchwork of rules and laws that will land anyone who uses guns without first possessing a law degree in federal prison for a long time. Lots of otherwise law-abiding people are going to federal prison if this ends up passing, and many are convinced that’s the whole idea.

Pennsylvania gun owners need to contact Senators Bob Casey and Pat Toomey as soon as possible and ask them to oppose this so-called background check bill.

If you have heard a rumor that NRA plans to back this horrible legislation, please do not believe it. This rumor is being promoted by the former network known as MSNBC – a home to many hosts who do not believe in the individual right to bear arms. NRA-ILA has even put out a statement to address this issue.

Below, you’ll find just a few of the mayors in select counties facing election this year who have joined with New York City’s Michael Bloomberg to lobby against your right to bear arms.

Many of these mayoral races are unchallenged, but others are closer than you can imagine. For example, Penndel’s 2009 mayoral race was decided by just 68 votes. For a tiny borough like Penndel, that seems like a pretty big margin. However, it doesn’t take into account significantly decreased turnouts. Fewer than 26% of registered voters in Bucks County actually cast a ballot in local races that year.

Across the border into Montgomery County, the mayoral race for Pottstown was decided by just 2 percentage points. Somewhat farther north, the mayor of Roseto in Northampton County was elected by only 53 votes. Out in the west, Ingram’s anti-gun advocate mayor in Allegheny County won his last election by just 9 votes!

Right now, candidates for municipal elections are still circulating petitions to get on the primary ballots on May 21. You may be able to find out from local opposing parties if there are known candidates for the office yet.

Bucks County
Chalfont – Marilyn Becker
Doylestown – Libby White
Ivyland – Charles Ritter
Langhorne – Christopher Blaydon
Penndel – Robert Winkler
Sellersville – Thomas Hufnagle
Telford – Jay Stover*
Tullytown – David Cutchineal

Montgomery County
Ambler – Bud Wahl
Hatboro – Norm Hawkes
Jenkintown – Ed Foley
Pottstown – Bonnie Heath
Souderton – John Reynolds
Telford – Jay Stover*

Northampton County
Bath – Donald Wunderler
Bethlehem – John Callahan*
Freemansburg – Gerald Yob
Northampton – Thomas Reenock
Roseto – Desiree D. DeNicola
Stockertown – Sherman Metzgar
Tatamy – Luke Duignam
West Easton – Gerald Gross
Wilson – David Perruso

Lehigh County
Allentown – Ed Pawlowski
Bethlehem – John Callahan*
Catasauqua – Barbara Schlegel
Emmaus – Winfield Iobst

Berks County
Bally – Phillip Ferrizzi
Bernville – Gail Stoudt
Birdsboro – Robert Myers
Boyertown – Marianne Deery
Hamburg – Roy Del Rosario
Kutztown – Sandra Green
Laureldale – Fred Feltenberger
Lyons – Randy Schlegel

York County
Felton – Gary McBrien
Jefferson – Jim Sanders
New Salem – Grace Angotti
Windsor – Larry Markel
Yoe – John Sanford
York – Kim Bracey

Armstrong County
Applewold – Gretchen Dosch

Butler County
Butler – Margaret Stock
Cherry Valley – Ronald Lockwood
Evans City – Gary Foster

Allegheny County
Aspinwall – Bernard Killian
Baldwin – Alexander Bennett, Jr.
Brentwood – Kenneth Lockhart
Castle Shannon – Donald Baumgarten
Chalfant – James Perry
Churchill – Paul McKenna
Clairton – Richard Lattanzi
Dormont – Thomas Lloyd
Duquesne – Philip Krivacek
East Pittsburgh – Louis Payne
Edgewood – J. Edward Cook
Edgeworth – Wayne Murphy
Emsworth – Dorothy H. Quinn
Homestead – Betty Esper
Ingram – Gerald Croushore
Lincoln – Nick Vay
Munhall – Raymond Bodnar
Sharpsburg – Richard Panza
Turtle Creek – Adam Forgie
West Elizabeth – Ralph Harrington
West Homestead – John Dindak
Whitehall – James Nowalk
Wilkinsburg – John Thompson

Westmoreland County
Bolivar – Everett Saxton
Manor – David Sturgess
Monessen – Mary Jo Smith
West Newton – Mary Popovich
Youngwood – Joan Derco

Greene County
Greensboro – Arnie Bowser

Lawrence County
Ellport – Joseph Cisco
Ellwood City – Tony Court
Wampum – Jeffrey Steffler

Mercer County
Meadville – John Christopher Soff

Erie County
Erie – Joseph Sinnott
Lake City – Joseph Legnasky
McKean – Weslee A. Clapper-Krepps

*Crosses multiple county lines.

Make sure that your lawmakers know that you don’t agree with the Attorney General, and that you want them to oppose new gun control measures!

On the anti-rights side, we have seen quite a bit of action. First there was the effort by Lower Makefield to lobby for ending preemption, but they deserve credit for rescinding their resolution.

In the next county over, Upper Moreland is currently pushing to use public resources to lobby for more gun control, seemingly for semi-automatic rifle bans and more – possibly including full registration according to supporters. (Unfortunately, the township hasn’t posted minutes, resolution text, or videos from recent meetings, so actual language isn’t easily available.) One of the Upper Moreland proposal’s supporters compared gun owners & NRA members to Nazis during public debate during the January meeting. Township residents who want to oppose this should contact their commissioners this week and follow up at their March 4 7pm regular meeting at Township Building, 117 Park Avenue in Willow Grove.

On the pro-rights side, New Britain, PA is considering a resolution to reaffirm the Second Amendment is an individual right and that the town “strongly objects to the passage of any new law or regulation … that infringes upon Second Amendment rights.”

Explaining why she wanted the resolution, [Councilwoman Mary Pat] Holewinski said, “When I was elected and sworn in, I swore to uphold the U.S. Constitution and the Pennsylvania Constitution. I introduced it as a means for borough council to show support for the Constitution.”

Residents who want to weigh in on the pro-Second Amendment resolution can attend the March 12 meeting at 7:30 p.m. at Borough Hall.

So, with a little click of your mouse, you can tweet to each of the Pennsylvania lawmakers with one of these messages. If you live in their district, make sure to say it. If you don’t tweet, the lawmaker names go to their Facebook pages.

Jim Gerlach (PA-6)

• I vote and support the Second Amendment. Support me and my rights. Oppose gun control.
• Constituents: I love our community and country. I vote and oppose gun control. So should you.

Pat Meehan (PA-7)

• I vote and support the Second Amendment. Support me and my rights. Oppose gun control.
• Constituents: I love our community and country. I vote and oppose gun control. So should you.

Mike Fitzpatrick (PA-8)

• I vote and support the Second Amendment. Support me and my rights. Oppose gun control.
• Constituents: I love our community and country. I vote and oppose gun control. So should you.

While the anti-gun advocate initially demanded that the town leaders lobby federal lawmakers to support a ban on semi-automatic rifles, the Board was apparently cautious about entering the federal debate. However, they instead decided to pass a resolution calling on higher level lawmakers to end Pennsylvania’s preemption statute.

Pennsylvania’s preemption law says that only the state can pass laws that regulate the use and ownership of firearms. Allowing local governments to create their own regulations would mean that licensed concealed carry holders or recreational shooters who travel the state to compete would have to memorize different regulations in every single one of Pennsylvania’s 56 cities, 958 boroughs, and 1,547 townships. In other words, we effectively could never leave our own towns with our firearms if we did not want to risk breaking a gun law.

Gun owners rallied. They emailed their supervisors and told them that this resolution was simply not acceptable. Many gun owners turned out to the meeting to let the township leaders know how unhappy they were with the resolution.

Oddly enough, it was actually through a verbal challenge by a gun control supporter that one supervisor, after acknowledging that the resolution was one of only two votes he has ever come to regret, made a motion to actually rescind the previous month’s resolution and lobbying request. After some additional discussion, the motion to rescind the anti-preemption lobbying resolution passed unanimously.

We covered the meeting live on the @PAGunRights Twitter account. This was a great example of how gun owners shut down their own local resources being used against them to lobby against important Second Amendment protections with just a few emails and by showing up one evening. Granted, those gun owners in Lower Makefield Township now know that they will have to keep an eye on these local lawmakers to make sure they don’t oppose our rights again, but at least they were able to succeed at home in this fight.

Biden in Philly: No conflict between gun proposals and Second Amendment

— Karen Langley (@karen_langley) February 11, 2013

“That’s a bunch of Malarkey.” -Joe Biden in response to claims he plans on taking away people’s guns. #BidenInPhilly #BidenGuns

— Sy Snyder (@PoliticsPA) February 11, 2013

It’s accurate to say he’s lecturing at media consumers rather than speaking to the public because Joe Biden would not release details of the event location or time to the public, nor were citizens allowed to attend the so-called roundtable on gun control.

One tactic the Vice President is using is to redefine the understanding of the Second Amendment.

Biden…not loking to go after legitimate right to bear arms

— Tom MacDonald–WHYY(@TMacDonaldWHYY) February 11, 2013

See, there’s his “legitimate right to bear arms” which doesn’t include common semi-automatic rifles or popular handguns with 15 or 17 round magazines. This creates a notion that there’s the “illegitimate right to bear arms” that isn’t worth mentioning because, well, those people who oppose the White House are simply illegitimate.

But Biden isn’t the only one speaking out. Likely gubernatorial candidate Rep. Allyson Schwartz is in attendance and joining the push for a gun ban. Rep. Bob Brady, head of the Philadelphia Democratic Party, highlighted how proud he is of his F rating from NRA.

Cong Bob Brady….I have F minus with the NRA.And I am proud of it

— Tom MacDonald–WHYY(@TMacDonaldWHYY) February 11, 2013

Rep. Chaka Fattah says we can’t allow people to own semi-automatic rifles at all.

Congressnan Chaka Fattah…we have to decide that we can’t have people running arpund with military style assault weapons.

— Tom MacDonald–WHYY(@TMacDonaldWHYY) February 11, 2013

Pennsylvania residents who have Florida permits can keep them, but they will no longer be valid in Pennsylvania. More importantly, non-Florida non-residents with Florida licenses to carry can no longer carry in Pennsylvania. If you are a Delaware resident who carries in Pennsylvania on the Florida permit, you’re no longer legal to carry here.

In fact, it appears that non-Florida non-residents who may have been carrying on a Florida license in the last week have actually been carrying illegally. The new agreement went into effect last Friday, but the Attorney General did not post it or announce it until today.

The Mondayevent is expected to be closed to the public and constituents, but Sen. Bob Casey and Reps. Bob Brady, Chaka Fattah and Allyson Schwartz–considered a favorite to run for Pennsylvania Governor next year–and Deputy U.S. Attorney General James Cole are all expected to attend.

No other details have been released yet, but we’ll keep you informed on Twitter as more information becomes available.

Now, Rep. Santarsiero has announced a new anti-gun organization for Bucks County. He calls the group “Bucks Safe,” and their mission says that a key policy initiative is to “draw a clear line in the sand between the weapons and ammunition that have a lawful place in our society and those that do not.”

If you live in Rep. Santarsiero’s district, now is the time to speak out against his proposed gun ban. Let him know that these firearms are some of the most commonly owned and used guns available today for every lawful use from home defense to competition.

If you live in Bucks County, make sure that you’re keeping up with all of the latest information on your rights. Don’t forget to contact your state lawmakers and ask them to stand up for the Second Amendment! Here are the other Bucks County lawmakers:

• Sen. Tommy Tomlinson
• Sen. Chuck McIlhinney
• Sen. Stewart Greenleaf
• Sen. Bob Mensch
• Rep. Bernie O’Neill
• Rep. Frank Farry
• Rep. Gene DiGirolamo
• Rep. John Galloway
• Rep. Kathy Watson
• Rep. Marguerite Quinn
• Rep. Paul Clymer
• Rep. Scott Petri
• Rep. Tina Davis

The story says that the sheriff’s office couldn’t handle the “constant line” of applicants, so now they have a sign-in sheet–in addition to the added hours. The added hours will be in effect until at least the end of February, but will go back to normal once the rush slows down.

If any Lackawanna County Second Amendment supporters want to find a line of gun owners just waiting to “do something,” this would be a great place to collect signatures on letters to Congress. Activists would know that everyone in the line lives in the county, and it’s only split between two Congressional districts – Reps. Tom Marino and Matt Cartwright. Cartwright campaigned on a gun control platform pretty much as extreme as anything you’ve heard about on the table federally, but Marino could use the extra voices telling him to stand up for gun owners.

Many of the people getting licenses, buying guns, and attending gun shows have told reporters that they feel their “action” is speaking to Congress. In fact, it isn’t saying anything at all to Congress, other than the fact that they don’t actually care enough about their rights to talk to anyone else about them. Pew recently released a poll that shows only 15% of people who support the Second Amendment & feel it should be protected from gun control proposals we’re hearing about right now have ever contacted a lawmaker about the issue. If we mobilize even a portion of that remaining 85% who say they support us, but have not bothered to write, then we can preserve the Second Amendment as an individual right.

The following is from Gov. Ridge’s answer on whether or not he thinks Congress will act quickly to pass a ban on commonly owned semi-automatic firearms:

I think it will. I think the mood of the nation has changed. I think the fact that they were able to do it back in ’94. And we have to be honest with one another, this is a very important step, but it’s only the first step that the country must take if we’re going to deal with the issue of gun violence. And during the course of this discussion, nobody is talking to those 25-30 people a day who get killed in urban America on one-on-one.

When asked to give advice to President Barack Obama on how he should tackle public policy on guns, Gov. Ridge reiterated his urge to ban firearms:

Assault weapon ban, high capacity weapons, I mean there’s no reason for people to have those. I think it’s important for background checks. … But let’s not kid ourselves, the debate must continue on urban violence, one-on-one violence, culture issues, as well as mental health issues.

Ridge would not volunteer to explain what he defines as a “high capacity weapon” that should be banned. In Connecticut, one newly proposed bill would ban any firearm capable of shooting more than a single round. In New York, lawmakers are arbitrarily reducing the limit to seven rounds, even with an understanding that such sized magazines are not easily available for their law-abiding gun owners. Grandfathering currently owned firearms and magazines has been pushed off the table for many of these proposals. In fact, one Bucks County lawmaker has pledged a bill to ban and confiscate semi-automatic rifles.

If you have not yet done so, it’s important to contact your federal lawmakers now to oppose the many gun control proposals that have already been introduced or soon will be introduced.